Johnson & Johnson K.K.

Established as a research and training facility by leading US medical device manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, Tokyo Science Center marked its first anniversary in August 2015. Accepting doctors not only from Japan, but also from abroad, the center is becoming a global hub of the medical device field.

Tokyo Science Center (TSC, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Pref.), established by Johnson & Johnson K.K. (J&J), marked the first anniversary on August 6, 2015. As of the end of July 2015, the facility saw more than 22,000 visitors from Japan and abroad, far exceeding its original estimate. J&J attributes this excellent start to the fact that a there is a growing interest among healthcare professionals in the medical devices and training related to endoscopic surgery, as the practice becomes widely adopted due to its minimal invasiveness for patients.

J&J has more than 265 operating companies in over 60 countries throughout the world with approximately 126,500 employees in total. In Fiscal Year 2014, the company posted sales of approximately 74.3 billion U.S. dollars (approximately 8.9 trillion yen). As is clear from the fact that it is one of the 30 corporations whose shares constitute the Dow Jones Industrial Average, J&J can be recognized as one of the largest healthcare companies in the world both in name and reality.

Since the start of its business in Japan in 1961, J&J has been providing a wide range of products including consumer goods, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. Some examples of its consumer goods are Band-Aid®, adhesive bandages; Nicorette®, smoking cessation medication; and Listerine®, mouthwash. J&J boasts a number of such brands familiar to Japanese consumers. For medical devices, J&J covers diverse medical fields from surgery to internal medicine, as well as Acuvue®, contact lenses.

Tokyo Science Center: drawing attention from abroad

It was with this background that J&J established TSC in the King Skyfront Tonomachi International Strategic Zone on August 6, 2014, an area designated as a national strategic special zone. The center boasts a vast scale of 2,942 square meters of site area with about 4,858 square meters of total floor area. Haneda Airport is located across the river from the center, enabling easy access from abroad.

TSC is a research and training facility for healthcare professionals, with state-of-the-art medical training equipment such as a simulation device for minimally-invasive surgery, a training simulator for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and the musculoskeletal system, and a remote video conference system. These devices enable healthcare professionals to learn cutting-edge medical technology.

Tokyo Science Center, Johnson & Johnson K.K.

TSC has become a base, where Japan’s sophisticated medical devices and techniques are spread from to both domestically and to overseas, by providing a broad range of programs. One is a training program using artificial organs under conditions similar to clinical practice, which was made possible through joint development by J&J and a Japanese company. The other programs include endoscopic surgery and treatment of cardiovascular disease. TSC also offers its own international programs in English, which is receiving strong interests from healthcare professionals in Asia and other parts of the world.

Background of Tokyo Science Center’s establishment

TSC functions as a center that collects knowledge and experiences from domestic and Asian healthcare professionals for further improvement of medical devices, as well as to reflect them in product development that address the needs of those countries. Mr. Tamotsu Hiiro, President of Johnson & Johnson K.K., says, “Japan is very advanced in Asia in the field of medical technology. We see a significance of establishment of TSC in the Tokyo Area, where we discover new solutions and unmet needs in synergy with Japanese doctors’ advanced techniques and Japan’s unique technology, and leading them to world-class development. I have no doubt that TSC will become a hub in Asia as well as globally.”

Mr. Tamotsu Hiiro, President of Johnson & Johnson K.K.

JETRO’s support

For the establishment of TSC, JETRO provided a variety of incentive information such as the Subsidy Program for Projects Promoting Asian Site Location in Japan for fiscal year 2011.

The Subsidy Program for Projects Promoting Asian Site Location in Japan is a subsidized scheme that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry began in 2010. This scheme aims to provide support in order to attract high value-added business bases to Japan, such as regional headquarters or R&D centers of global companies engaged in cross-border business. JETRO was entrusted with operations of governmental programs open to the public until FY2012 as the secretariat of the subsidized scheme.

(September 2015)

Corporate history

1886

Founded in New Brunswick, New Jersey, US

1944

Listed on stock exchange

1961

Founded in Japan

August 2014

Established Tokyo Science Center

Johnson & Johnson K.K. (headquartered in Japan)

Establishment:

August 1978 (Founded in 1961)

Address：

3-5-2 Nishi-Kanda, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo

Business:

Import, production and sale of medical devices and healthcare products